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Whats up with the Smaller than Advertised Tack?!

In the past two weeks I have ordered an "oversized" snaffle bridle, a set of "60 inch" rubber reins, and a "58 inch" fleece girth.

What I received was a full sized bridle, 57 inch reins, and a 53 inch girth. What the faaa%@#!???!!

Mind you these were from three different online companies and three different brands so clearly its a general problem.

Sigh. The girth (which btw - this is second one I've tried. The first was supposed to be a 56" - the size I actually need - but it turned out to measure at 52, so for round two I tried 58 hoping it might fit like a 56) and the bridle had to be returned - I made due with the reins, though they are a bit shorter than I'd prefer - and now I'm totally gun shy to order anything else. Unfortunately, my local tack shops don't carry the sizes I need at prices I can afford (i.e., under $150-$200).

So whats up with that?! Is this common - to misrepresent actual sizes? Or did I just happen upon a bad batch?

At this point I'm willing to eat beans and rice for a few weeks and cough up a bit more for a girth if it is ACTUALLY THE SIZE ITS ADVERTISED AS.

As a fellow moose owner, I totally sympathize! Bell boots are a challenge too! I went through 3 brands of XL bell boots that barely did up and didn't come close to covering the heels before I found a pair that fit!

As far as a 58" girth, try Classic Equine. I got a 58" with double elastic that I rarely used, and it actually measures 61", so a 56" would probably be more than enough! They run about ~$100 IRC.

For bridles, Vespucci's run ridiculously large. Depending on width of head, the horse fits very big. I have 2 horse sized ones that fit my oversize-everything 17.2 guy. Red Barn O/S fits great, I have this one http://www.equestriancollections.com...upcode=ER90414 for schooling. While not spectacular leather, especially compared to my Red Barn, it is pretty nice for <$80 and looks great on my giant horse.

I have a pair I just ordered but I haven't tried on my horse yet, however looking at them...I'm not convinced they're going to fit anyway and they're supposedly XXLs! They do at least have XXXLs I guess I could exchange them for but ugh. :/

I have a pair I just ordered but I haven't tried on my horse yet, however looking at them...I'm not convinced they're going to fit anyway and they're supposedly XXLs! They do at least have XXXLs I guess I could exchange them for but ugh. :/

Yes, I'm interested in this too! The Flake's shoes are going back on on Monday and I'd like to protect my investment. So far, all my attempts at XL bells have been a bust.

The Cashel XL no-turn bell boots are the ones I was talking about. The Professional's Choice XL most definitely did not even come close to fitting! They do come in XXXL but after the XL's didn't fit I just got the kind his previous owner had. If you want gummy boots, Greenhawk's Supra brand XL fit him as well. Hope that helps!

Just received a Bates Cair girth that is supposed to be 52". It measures 50" at the rollers. I was always taught to measure at the middle part of the buckle and it measures 49" there.

I can send it back to the seller since it was NWT and has it stamped on the girth at 52"/130 cm. Bates is wrong not the seller. Frustrating since it does not fit. I did get a really good price so hopefully I can recoup it somewhere.

Oh, well, clearly you're not thoroughly indoctrinated to COTH yet, because finger pointing and drawing conclusions are the cornerstones of this great online community. (Tidy Rabbit)